My Alices, My Pain
by shainingu etowa-ru
Summary: In the past, something terrible happened to Mikan that caused her to mysteriously ‘disappear’ from the Alice society for six years. She gets back to Gakuen Alice and meets the gang again, but will her past haunt her? Rated T for safety. NxM and others
1. Chapter 1

_~My Alices, My Pain~_

_**Disclaimer:**__ I don't own Gakuen Alice_

_**SUMMARY: **_In the past, something terrible happened to Mikan that caused her to mysteriously 'disappear' from the world for six years. She turns up in Tokyo eventually, but what will happen to her now?

_**NOTE:**__OOC Alert. Pairings are : NxM, RxH, and others.._

CHAPTER ONE

It was rather late at night, and there was a brunette wearing a dirty white school blouse, with three golden stars on the collar lapel. A dirty black tie about half the length of the white blouse was also around the girl's collar. Finally, there was a dirty red-and-white checkered school skirt that the girl was wearing. The skirt's pocket seemed to be fully stuffed with some things. She also wore a pair of tight black shorts underneath the skirt.

In this brunette's hand, she gripped a tiny electronic device in her right hand tightly, and in her other hand was…a dagger, dripping with blood. _Blood_. She also wore neither socks nor shoes, and was barefoot. As a result, her feet were dirty and bloodied.

This girl's name was Sakura Mikan, and she was shivering. She was terribly cold, tired and most of all, hungry. She felt tears running down her already-sodden-by-the-heavy-rain cheeks. The one thing however, that would cause people to gasp upon seeing her, would be the hands and legs of Mikan's, all covered with blood.

_I want to just be a normal person…why can't I be one?_

The brunette was hiding from the fury of the current weather under a tiny piece of unfolded cardboard she had found lying in the corner of the alley she was currently in. The cardboard provided little comfort to the brunette, who watched droplets of rain falling from the sky and splashing into a puddle of water on the ground. The wind was blowing in a terrific gale while lightning flashed ever so often across the dark sky, and Mikan shivered even more.

For Mikan, she wasn't shivering with just cold; there was also fear and sadness. Her whole life since leaving the school, Mikan had barely had any chance to be happy. It was all because she had Alices, though she didn't hate them. Her Nullification and Stealing (SEC) Alices, not to mention the Teleportation Alice she'd discovered she'd inherited from her mother Azumi Yuka quite a few years ago.

_All because of my Alices…_

_That's why I have this sort of life…_

_This sort of…miserable life…_

She was already eighteen years old now, and here she was, not in Gakuen Alice, where she belonged, as she herself was an Alice, but currently in an alley in one of Tokyo's back streets. Why was she here in the first place? Why was she here, when she could have been in the school she loved so much, where all her friends and family were, the only other place where she'd been able to experience a sense of truly belonging, other than the monastery her adopted Ojii-san had brought her up in?

_Ojii-san…_

A huge bolt of lightning arced the sky, and the sound of it hitting somewhere on earth resounded in the surrounding area with a terrible crackle. Mikan gasped, and tried to shut her eyes tightly as a certain memory of her past re-surfaced in her mind, filling it with gory images.

_No…please…not again…_ begged the brunette in her mind, her body rocking back and forth as she tried to stop shivering under the piece of cardboard which was the only thing protecting the crown of her head from getting wet.

_A hateful young man from her past threatening her with many horrible things, then grabbing her collar roughly by the hand…_

_Ojii-san pleading to them to spare Mikan's life…_

_Rain…thunder…a grave, though not her own…_

Mikan's eyes flew open, and the brunette let out a resounding, horrifying scream, and the piece of cardboard tumbled from her bloodied hands, landing on the sodden ground.

'**NOOOOOO!'** cried the brunette, as scenes of the past started running through her mind, while the rain pelted down heavily, and more lightning flashed overhead.

_The Past, Six Years Ago, Gakuen Alice_

'There's a fire in the Northern Forest!' shouted Misaki-sensei, rushing into Class B in the Elementary School Division at what seemed to be the speed of light. The school's fire alarm was ringing loudly, meanwhile.

'_WHAT?!'_ gaped Narumi-sensei. His eyes scanned the classroom hurriedly, thinking of a certain fire caster. 'Natsume-kun! Did _you_ start that fire?!' The sensei demanded to know.

'Of course not!' said an annoyed Hyuuga Natsume. 'If it was me, I'd be there, not here in your classroom, as I have been, for the past ten boring minutes!'

Narumi groaned. '_Who_ caused the fire then?' Natsume rolled his eyes now. 'How would I know?'

Misaki-sensei said, 'We'd better go and stop the fire from spreading, before it's too late! If anyone has a Water Alice, please help us!'

'We don't have any Water Alices in this class, sensei,' said Yuu uncomfortably. 'Oh,' said Misaki and he turned to go, but before he could leave, someone blocked him.

_Mikan._

'Sensei,' she said breathlessly, 'please let me help! My Nullification Alice can definitely help here!' Misaki-sensei looked horrified, the class erupted into shouts of 'No, Mikan-chan, you can't go!' while Natsume Hyuuga had grabbed Mikan by the arm in a split-second and was attempting to drag her as far away from the door as possible. Also, Hotaru Imai had pulled her Baka Gun out and fired several shots at her best friend before stomping over, dragging her boyfriend Ruka Nogi with her to helpNatsume stop Mikan from trying to help Misaki-sensei. **(A/N: IRONY!)**

'Hey, Natsume!' shouted an irritated twelve-year-old brunette. _'I want to help!'_

'**NO!'** hissed her boyfriend. _'WHY?'_ screamed back Mikan.

'No, because I say so! Now stop trying to go back towards the door!' yelled her frustrated boyfriend. Hotaru and Ruka reached the two of them and Hotaru pulled out one of her inventions. 'Ruka, Hyuuga, hold her!' she shouted.

The two boys did so, and then Mikan started to protest even louder. 'What the-' she began, before Hotaru pulled out a blue-coloured ball thingy and stuffed it in her collar. The blue ball expanded immediately, and it became so huge Mikan fell out of Natsume's arms, crashing onto the floor with a loud 'Thump!' and a scream of pain.

'This is a Baka-Defense-Shield, Invention No. 8647,' explained Hotaru emotionlessly, as she proceeded to make sure Mikan was now completely inside the huge blue ball. 'This will stop Mikan from going any further than 30 metres away from me,' she said next, before dumping the now-stuck-in-a-blue-coloured-shield Mikan in Natsume's arms.

Natsume collapsed onto the floor, glaring at Hotaru, who ignored him and pulled Ruka off towards Misaki-sensei. Hotaru handed Misaki several water balloons.

'This isn't a normal balloon, it is full of water, but no matter how many times you throw it at fire, the balloon will just release a little bit of water and extinguish a huge flame in seconds. It will come back to you after each use,' Hotaru explained, and then she passed Narumi a plain fire extinguisher. Narumi looked confused. 'Uh…'

'Misaki's not as _gay_ as you, so he gets the cool stuff. Now go stop the fire!' she shouted, and pushed both senseis out of the door, before proceeding to lock it shut with a key. Outside, the two senseis crashed into the opposite wall, before glaring at the classroom door, thinking of insults towards the Ice Queen. Looking at each other, they got up, decided to hurry up and Narumi followed Misaki as fast as he could run towards the Northern Forest.

Meanwhile inside the classroom, the class was laughing at Hotaru's meanness towards Narumi. Hotaru shrugged and put the key to the classroom door inside her skirt pocket, before rolling the ball Mikan was in towards a corner of the classroom.

'Hey! That hurts, Hotaru!' screamed the brunette, her body rolling over and over each time the ball went through a revolution. Hotaru glared at her before rolling the ball one final revolution. It came to a rest against a wall.

Natsume and Ruka came up. 'The class is trying to see the fire out of the windows,' commented Ruka, sitting down on the floor with Natsume. 'Hn,' replied Natsume. End of their conversation.

Hotaru simply stared at them, and then went over to the windows with some camera equipment. 'Hey, Hotaru! Don't leave me here!' wailed Mikan, trying to get out of the balloon, and failing miserably.

'Shut up, Polka Dots,' said Natsume. 'I don't want to lock you in either, but you're too reckless, so Imai was forced to do so. So stop thinking about trying to help and stay in the ball!'

Mikan sighed. She was thinking about how her Nullification Alice could surely cancel out a lot of the flames, if a Fire Alice caused them. 'I can't sit here and do nothing, even if I know Hotaru and Natsume want me to stay here for my own safety! What if the fire burnt many things! Hey, wait a minute…the Northern Forest. ISN'T MR. BEAR STAYING IN THERE!? NOOO!!! I CAN'T LET MR. BEAR GET HURT! Please, please, I don't care how, just let me get out of this ball!' thought the brunette in panic. 'Hey, wait, what's going on!' thought the brunette furiously as she felt herself suddenly shaking.

Suddenly, from the outside of the translucent ball, Natsume and Ruka, who had been watching Mikan on guard in case she attempted to escape, saw a large light flashing throughout the ball.

'Hey!' shouted Ruka. The bright light threw shadows across the classroom, which had been rather dark because Sumire had turned off most of the lights, insisting that this would help the class see the fires outside more clearly.

Hotaru, who had been videoing the fires through her video camera, saw the shadows the bright light suddenly threw across the room. In fact, the whole class did, including Fukutan, who'd been left in charge of the classroom. The light was so bright the whole classroom lit up for a second, becoming as bright as if all of the lights had originally been turned on.

Hotaru and everybody else stared at the ball Mikan was in, and Hotaru realized something bad might just have happened. Her eyes widened and she dashed towards her invention. The Ice Queen pounded on the sides of the ball. 'Oi, Mikan! Are you okay in there? What happened?'

There was no response. Hotaru tried again, **'MIKAN!'** There was no response. **'THAT'S IT!'** shouted the Ice Queen, her patience running out. Ruka and Natsume's eyes widened and they raced to join the rest of the class, who were all shivering in fear of what Hotaru was going to do next. Hotaru pulled out her Baka Gun for the second time since the fires in the school started, and shot at the blue ball. It exploded into a billion pieces.

Everyone in class coughed, the dust from the mini-explosion covering the area while hundreds of pieces of blue-shield-ball bits rained down on them. Hotaru pulled out a umbrella when this happened and was perfectly fine, while everyone else got covered in dust. The class sweat dropped.

After a few moments, the dust started to clear. Hotaru lowered her umbrella and the class stepped forward cautiously. The dust completely disappeared next, but nobody was prepared for the sight of what they saw…

Nothing. There was nothing there. There was no half-dead Mikan in a heap on the floor, calling Hotaru 'meanie' or some similar name thanks to the mini-explosion. No Mikan was there at all.

The class felt goose bumps pop up their bodies, and chills ran up some spines. Hotaru gasped and went white. 'Mikan?' she called hesitantly. Natsume and Ruka looked shocked, as did the rest of the class. 'Where did Mikan go?'

Hotaru shouted, 'Find Mikan now! I think she went **OUTSIDE**!' The class's faces turned even paler, especially Natsume's. 'THAT BAKA!' muttered Natsume. 'Hurry up, let's go!' cried some random person in the class.

The class nodded and hurriedly Hotaru unlocked the door and everyone, including Fukutan, rushed out of the building and started searching for Mikan.

However, there was no trace of Mikan. Nobody found Mikan in the school grounds at all.

_Nobody knew what had happened in the end, but was Mikan's case really closed? Nobody knew for sure either, and Mikan Sakura was officially to the world, dead._

**BACK TO THE PRESENT**

Mikan screwed up her face in dismay as more rain hit her face very painfully. She had no idea what had happened to the school she loved so much for the past six years, and it wasn't likely that she was going to know what had happened when she left it after all.

Not in this sort of state.

Mikan thought awhile and then cross-examined her body. Her skin was scratched so badly that that were deep gashes in nearly every cut, bruises were all over her body, her left leg was badly sprained, and her right thumb was bleeding still from her being attacked under ambush barely a few hours ago. Also, there was one final scar on her body that, Mikan knew, would never be able to be healed. Indefinitely. This particular scar was in the shape of a thunderbolt. It was zigzagged on two sides in two lines, meeting at the end of both lines. Mikan grimaced. This scar had indeed been caused by a very painful incident…

_Ojii-san…_

The brunette felt like cursing a little. She'd learnt many curses while she had been with them, after all, and she was certain she could use any one of them at the moment, but she hated cursing.

_Them._

Them, the ones who had forced her to nearly kill her own self, both physically and mentally. Them, the ones who had destroyed her innocence, both physically, and mentally. Them, the ones who, although they gave her schooling, taught her all kinds of horrible facts about the world and its unfairness.

'Achoo!' sneezed Mikan suddenly. She clapped a hand over her delicate mouth that had blood oozing from a cut on her upper lip, gathered her feet beneath her, and took off down the alley towards the main street. While doing that, Mikan took the knife she had been carrying and shoved it inside her skirt pocket, feeling it jostle for space with the other items important to her that were inside her pocket.

Mikan groaned internally. The rain was not letting up, and the rain was falling faster than ever. She had decided that she had better move to somewhere with a better shelter than stay in the alley a moment longer. It might be a safer hiding place from _them_, but it would not help her much if she fell sick due to the weather.

Anywhere had to be better than the place she was now in any case, the situation she was now in, everything…Mikan hobbled slowly down the alleyway, her left leg making her move very slowly…

**MEANWHILE, WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN GAKUEN ALICE WHEN MIKAN SUDDENLY DISAPPEARED:**

The fire in the mean time had been extinguished thanks to the faculty of the school and Mr. Bear was found to be perfectly fine.

The fact that Mikan was missing, however, was reported to the school administration immediately. The class was interrogated on what had happened inside the classroom, and Hotaru explained that she had put a camera inside the ball to check on Mikan, but it had been broken completely when she smashed the ball, so there was no way anyone could find out what happened inside the ball at all.

For the next month, the whole school was put on alert to inform the school immediately should they see Mikan anywhere in the school grounds. However, months passed after the incident, and as there was less trace of Mikan as time passed by, the more the class and the school changed.

'I tell you, Hotaru-chan hasn't eaten for days now!' cried Anna to her best friend Nonoko one day. 'I'm really worried about her, and Natsume-san, and Ruka-san!'

Hotaru blamed herself deeply for Mikan's disappearance, saying that perhaps something had happened inside the ball causing Mikan to suddenly disappear. Natsume was very moody after the incident, and Ruka, Hotaru and Natsume withdrew from the class into their own private circle, refusing to speak much with others. The school itself was terribly shocked when they found out that their little 'angel saviour', the one who had saved the D.A class from Principal Kuonji, had mysteriously disappeared

Azumi Yuka, Mikan's mother **(for those who still don't know)** was very upset. Shiki and Narumi had had to comfort her countless times. Shiki, who was the Powerful Alice Ability Class advisor **(A/N: The P.A class is my own invention. It replaces the original D.A class after the whole ESP incident.)**, had had no choice but to try and find out more about Mikan's sudden disappearance, though he yielded no results.

Eventually, after a year had passed, the school was forced to inform the Tokyo Police about the disappearance of one of their students, asking for their help. The police could do nothing however, except stay on the alert for people matching Mikan's last known description.

When another three years had passed, making it a total of four years since Mikan disappeared, the Tokyo Police decided Mikan was 'officially considered dead', and the school made a little 'grave' in honour of Mikan's memory under the infamous Sakura tree belonging to Mikan and Natsume. They also held a small 'ceremony' for Mikan.

The school still remembered Mikan, and whenever new students arrived since then, senseis made sure they knew the story, so that nothing bad would happen to the new student (like burnt hair, Baka Gun attacks and so on).

_That was what happened in Gakuen Alice, but what had happened to Mikan during this time?_

**BACK TO THE PRESENT:**

Mikan had managed to get to the main road, and she sat down on a seat at a nearby bus stop, which happened to have a shelter fixed on top of it. There was a light that was turned on in the bus stop, allowing Mikan to see her surroundings more clearly.

She was definitely in one of Tokyo's less busy suburbs, though she had no clue where exactly, as there was nary a soul in sight, even though it was only 7.30 PM.

Mikan gasped and winced in pain as her painful leg acted up again, and pain shot through her leg up to her hip, making Mikan feel worse than ever. The brunette felt her wet hair, and sighed.

Sometimes being a teenager alone and on the run was not a good thing. No, scratch that. It was never good, especially when that 'time-of-the-month' came…Mikan snorted with disgust. She wished often that females didn't have to go through the blasted puberty that kept he thinking about Nat-

Mikan's snort died away, and it was replaced by a sad smile. _Natsume Hyuuga._

_Natsume…I wish you were with me now…_

The brunette stared at her left and right hands. The ring finger of her right hand had a simple, plain platinum band on it. Mikan smiled more brightly now and took the ring off. She looked at it for the billionth time since she'd left the school.

On the inside of the platinum ring were three figures. They had been carved into the platinum ring.

**NxM** was what the figures said. It was Natsume's promise ring to her. He'd given it to he on her twelfth birthday, promising that one day he would definitely marry her. She had collapsed into a fit of giggles after he whispered that for her ears only.

Mikan put the platinum ring back on and slipped off the friendship ring Hotaru had given her that was on her left index finger. She grinned, fondly remembering the times with Hotaru that she'd enjoyed so much. Hotaru had, like Natsume, given her the ring on her twelfth birthday.

She remembered the time Ruka had asked Hotaru out, it had been with her help, and she'd been filled with relief when Hotaru agreed to date Ruka. In fact, till that time, no one except Mikan had even _suspected_ Hotaru of liking Ruka back as well.

Mikan laughed and put the friendship ring back on. She felt about inside her skirt pocket and pulled out a plastic zip lock bag containing a huge number of beautiful stones.

They were Alice stones. Mikan's entire collection of Alice stones were all in that bag, save for the biggest, a red Fire Alice Stone she wore on a chain around her neck. It had been Natsume's Alice stone, and Mikan had put it around her neck for safety.

Suddenly, Mikan felt her body being wracked with terrible coughs. She sneezed a bit and realized that the sudden temperature drop that had occurred while she was under the shelter of the bus stop had taken a toll on her body, plus all of her injuries, both recent and old. Mikan felt very ill suddenly.

'Eh…' said the brunette blearily. Just as she was trying to stop the headaches building up in her head, a bus pulled up at the bus stop. A young woman got out. She noticed Mikan at once, while the bus drove off into the night.

Mikan's body suddenly tipped forward, and Mikan crashed unconscious onto the hard pavement.

'Ah!' gasped the young woman in horror, and she immediately rushed forward to help Mikan. 'Girl? Girl? Are you okay? Wake up? Hey!?'

She got no response, and the young woman decided to call an ambulance.

**AN HOUR LATER, IN TOKYO'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS HOSPITAL:**

'Doctor? The new patient we've just brought in 25 minutes ago…the one in a coma…I think she's a Gakuen Alice student,' said the nurse in the doctor's office.

The doctor in the office (which was his) glanced at the nurse for a split second, then his eyes widened and he rapped out several questions. 'How do you know she's a Gakuen Alice student?'

'Well, Doctor, while I was undressing her when she first arrived, she was wearing a Gakuen Alice uniform for students that were her age. Second, in her skirt pocket I found many strange items. The nurse put on a pair of rubber surgical gloves and presented a metal tray bearing several items to the doctor.

The things on the tray were: a zip lock bag full to the bursting point with strangely colored stones, some big some small, a dagger with blood all over it, an envelope that was rather rumpled and lumpy as if there were several things inside it and finally, there was a metal chain necklace with a huge red stone hanging from it.

'The necklace was around her neck but I had to take it off because of the IV,' said the nurse. 'She also wore two rings on her fingers, but I let her keep them on.'

The doctor nodded, looking grim. 'Check her DNA. I want to know who she is.'

The nurse nodded. 'Yes, Doctor.' She left hurriedly. The doctor, whose name was Keichi Kawamura, sat down breathlessly into his desk chair. He was completely stunned.

'An Alice…eh? This person's a girl, hmm…about seventeen to eighteen, brunette…' He thought for a moment, and then pulled his Blackberry out of his pocket. There was a need to contact a certain person…

The doctor dialed a number from memory; it was not stored in his phone. He waited for the person on the other end of the line to pick up. When the other party finally did, he did not sound very happy. He was tired out, in fact.

'Hello? Shiki, is that you?' asked the doctor.

'Yes, of course it's me! What do you want now? Another of Imai Hotaru's magical healing bandages?'

The doctor grinned. 'No. I have something better to ask you about. Do you remember that girl you asked me to keep an eye out for if she ever turned up at any hospital in Tokyo? From six years ago?'

Shiki, in his office in Gakuen Alice's high school division, immediately dropped his red pen. 'What? Don't tell me...' he began.

'Yes. I got a lead. There's a patient who was admitted here about half an hour ago. It's a 17-18 year old female, and she came in wearing a Gakuen Alice uniform, according to one of my nurses. She apparently fainted in the streets an hour ago, and came in badly injured and unconscious. We've done a little operation on her, and patched her up mostly. Unfortunately, she's in a coma currently and I'm not sure what to do. She's definitely an Alice though, even if it's not the girl you're looking for.'

'How do you know that?' asked Shiki. 'Well,' replied Keichi, ' it's because we found a whole lot of Alice stones in a zip lock bag in her school skirt. And now I'm sure she is the girl you've been searching for. The Stealing Alice would certainly garner many Alice Stones, right?'

Shiki smiled. He felt as if a huge weight had been suddenly lifted off his shoulders. 'Immediately transfer this girl and all her belongings to the hospital in Gakuen Alice. There's no need for a DNA report; the high school principal's Alice will do just fine.'

Keichi nodded. 'I will tell my nurse to stop the DNA report now and make the arrangements. Goodbye, Shiki, and I hope sincerely it is her.'

'Yes, I hope for that too,' commented Shiki, before cutting the connection. The doctor smiled and pressed the intercom button connected to the hospital's front desk. He started giving rapid and detailed instructions to the front desk clerks.

In Gakuen Alice, Shiki got out of his office chair and called three people on his Sidekick. The first person was Azumi Yuka. The second was the High School Principal, Mikan's uncle Yukihira. The last once was a sensei teaching in the elementary school division, Anjo Narumi.

The message he gave them was the same: please meet me at the school hospital's front desk in half an hour.

**30 MINUTES LATER, GAKUEN ALICE'S HOSPITAL:**

A black limousine drew up at the drive leading to the hospital. Two adults got out. One was a tall female with blonde hair that reached her waist, while the other was also a blonde, but he was a male. Azumi Yuka and Anjo Narumi. The first, Yuka, was the current principal of the elementary school division, while Narumi was currently a high-ranking sensei in the elementary school division.

The two rushed into the hospital's lobby to see Shiki and Principal Yukihira, or Kazu, already waiting for them. Shiki hurriedly explained the situation.

'You see, today, my colleague, who's a doctor in a hospital in Tokyo, had a patient arrive by ambulance. The patient was a girl dressed in our school's high school division uniform and she is about 17 to 18 years old.'

'What does that have to do with the two if us then, Shiki?' questioned Yuka. 'We're not from the high school division like you two are.'

'No, you see, we think the girl is Sakura Mikan.' Yuka and Narumi's eyes widened. 'I've already had her transported here, and I've already informed Kazu about it before you two arrived. Let's go quickly and see the girl. She is currently in a coma, and ahs been ever since she arrived at the hospital in Tokyo.'

Shiki led the three other adults quickly down a hallway, then into an elevator that took them to the hospital's 7th floor. They walked down another two hallways, the first long, the second short, before finally coming to a stop outside a ward.

'Here,' said Shiki, gesturing to the door, which had a name on it. The name of the patient in the room on the sign stuck to the door was currently reading '? Sakura Mikan?' The adults sweat dropped and Kazu opened the door quietly, and then closed the door after they had all entered.

The sight that met their eyes was horrifying. The brunette lying in the bed was attached to several machines, and her body had many visible injuries, even though most of them were already patched up.

Just then, Narumi noticed the girl's finger on her right hand twitch. He gasped and immediately pointed out the fact to the others, who quickly called for the doctor.

Five minutes later, Imai Subaru, the current head doctor of the Alice hospital, arrived at the ward. He checked the patient's vital signs and concluded that the girl was waking up soon after hearing what the adults described happening to the patient.

Smiles broke out all over everyone's faces, including Doctor Subaru's. They started talking about Mikan and decided to compare how similar Mikan and this girl lying in the bed was. Not long after, the girl suddenly opened her eyes.

'Ah!' gasped Yuka, rushing forward in an instant. The girl saw her and gasped as well. 'No!'

' '_No!'_ Huh?' said a confused Narumi. The brunette sat up swiftly in bed, checking her surroundings. She stared at the four adults, and the doctor, and the nurse in her ward, then asked one simple question that everyone found extremely difficult to answer.

'What the hell am I doing here in the school?!' demanded the brunette.

Yuka blinked. 'Did you just say a…_profanity_?' Narumi gasped. 'No! Mikan's pure innocence! All gone!' The brunette rolled her eyes and stared at her clothes. She realized something and asked, 'Where are my clothes?'

The nurse came forward with a box. 'In here, miss.' The brunette breathed a sigh of relief.

'We need to ask you a few questions,' said Kazu, sitting down in a chair next to the bed. The girl blinked. 'OK.'

'One,' began Kazu, 'who are you?' The girl smiled.

'My name,' she said crisply,' is Sakura Mikan. I am eighteen years old.'

Yuka gasped again, lurched forward and embraced her daughter in a tight hug. 'Mikan!' she breathed. 'Sorry for worrying you all these years, okaa-san,' murmured Mikan. 'It doesn't matter, just the fact that you're here safe and sound is good enough.'

'Mikan,' said Kazu. 'Where's my hug, missy?' The principal of the high school division was very close to his only niece. The brunette grinned and gave him a big hug, then gave Shiki and Narumi hugs too.

'Man, Mikan,' commented Narumi. 'What happened to you all this while?' Mikan's happy face froze, and she looked upset. 'Well…what happened…can I just tell you another time? Right now, I have one request to make of all of you.'

'What is it, Mikan?' asked Shiki kindly. 'If it can be done, we will definitely fulfill your wish.'

'Thanks, Shiki-san. I would like only Doctor Imai-san, as little nurses as possible, and only the four of you to know that I am back.'

The adults looked at each other. 'Why?' asked Narumi finally. 'You see, I ran into a lot of…trouble while I was…away, and I cannot let my…enemies know I'm here. I wasn't even planning to come here, but I can guess what happened. The government hospital I believe I was sent to when I fell unconscious at that bus stop must have checked me and found out I have Alices so they sent me here. Right?'

The adults sweat dropped and Shiki said, 'More… or less.' Mikan nodded and looked satisfied. 'The less people that know about all this, the better.'

'Well then, we'll respect your privacy, Mikan,' said Kazu. 'Yes, Mikan,' agreed Yuka. 'If you want it this way, you'll have it this way then.'

'Thanks, okaa-san,' said Mikan gratefully. 'I'm tired; so I think I'll go to sleep now. I need to recover fully as fast as possible. Goodnight, to all of you, and thanks a million!' Mikan snuggled down under her blanket and fell asleep.

The adults, nurse and Doctor Subaru looked amused, then one by one, they quietly trooped out of the hospital ward room and closed the door behind them.

_**Najika-chan's Corner:**_

Well, now, this is my newest fanfiction. I've done my best with it and I hope you like it! I'm going to update my profile page and take down several things too! I hope you can review after reading this chapter. Arigato!

~Najika-chan


	2. Chapter 2

_~My Alices, My Pain~_

_**Author's Notes: **_You guys know my new review rule for my new fanfics? This fanfic broke the record! I had my minimum of 5 reviews in _two days_!I wanna thank all of my reviewers so far! You guys made my day, totally! I was amazed to see there were already quite a few hits and some reviews.

**REVIEWERS:**

**#1.** Sakura Breeze – You have reviewed one of my stories again! Thanks so much! I appreciate your support for me 

**#2.** ImiChan – Heys, did you visit one of my other fanfictions or something? I think I noticed your name somewhere...Thanx a million for bothering to review!

**#3.** JuSt To RaNdOm – Thank you so much for the encouragement!

**#4.** BestFriend09 – I'll try and update as fast as I can, I promise! ;)

**#5.** Chiaki Harukaze – My dear Chiaki, you rock! I still can't believe you actually reviewed this story =D

Let's continue with Chapter Two, then…

**NOTE 2:** _PAUSE!_ Sorry for the interruption, but later you'll see the nickname Kisaki appear in the story. Kisaki means queen in Japanese as far as I know, so the name means, well, Queen! Let's carry on then.

CHAPTER TWO

'_Stop struggling! It's useless! Stop it, you disgusting piece of sh-' The girl tied to the chair had tears streaming down her face while the man in the room with her brandished a leather whip, the type used to hit animals like bulls. The man raised the whip high in the air, and then brought it slicing through the air downwards._

The whip crackled and snapped against the brunette's back, causing the girl to cry out in pain. 'AAH!' A new, bright red line appeared on the girl's back, crisscrossing with the hundreds of others already on her back. She was wearing nothing at all, not even a pair of underpants.

'_Serves you right, you horrible child,' muttered the young man. 'All the freedom we give you, and you lose our trust in you by attempting to escape again? Huh? What's so good about the outside world anyway? Isn't this building your only home? It's happiness for all who are in this organization of ours, Kisaki, and you'd better realize it soon and stop trying to escape.'_

_The man put his whip inside his pants pocket, and then strode out of the dark, cell-like room with utter disgust and contempt clearly showing on his hardened face._

_The brunette left alone inside the room struggled to stop herself from laughing out loud as she pretended to continue crying. Her face twisted into a slight sneer. 'What a stupid old man. Did he really think that I was really in pain? With that stupid training they gave me for so long, this pain is nothing.'_

_The girl, who was about fifteen years old, suddenly released a small flame onto the ropes binding her to the metal chair. The ropes broke immediately, charred ends falling swiftly to the tiled floor._

_The ropes reached the ground with hardly any noise, and the brunette smirked, and then got out of the chair, stretching her body as much as she could without stressing it._

'_That is much better,' thought Kisaki. 'Now, where's the exit? Time to escape again. It'll only be about my 27__th__ time, after all…'_

_Kisaki went over to a corner of the room and felt about on the floor. Her hands felt cloth and the brunette knew she'd just struck gold. Perfect._

'My clothes and my stuff,' thought the girl. 'Luckily this organization, for all the smartness they claim to have, can't think of people's skirts hiding stuff. Hmph. However, they are smart sometimes. They give me a Gakuen Alice uniform to wear. If I'm ever spotted by Gakuen Alice operatives during a mission, they'll think I'm part of their number, which helps the organization a lot. I hate wearing it though, and I hate this organization!'

_The brunette pulled her skirt on and checked that all her belongings were intact, before she sprinted towards the open door. Time to try and grab freedom again…_

'**AAH!'** gasped a certain patient in Ward 23 on the seventh floor of the Alice Hospital in Gakuen Alice. The brunette sat up in bed wildly, eyes observing her surroundings. When she saw that she was still in the hospital, she gave a huge sigh of relief and sank back against her pillows.

The door to the ward burst open and a very harried-looking nurse rushed in, accompanied by Doctor Subaru. 'What happened, Mikan-san?' asked the nurse quickly. 'We heard you screaming while we were in the corridor,' added Doctor Subaru.

Mikan raised an eyebrow. 'I'm fine, thanks for your concern. I just had a bad dream. What time is it?'

The nurse gestured to the clock on the ward wall. 'It's 8.30 AM, and today's Saturday and it's time for Mikan-san's breakfast. I'll bring the tray in, alright?'

Mikan smiled and nodded. 'Thank you. By the way, Doctor Subaru-san…' Imai Subaru looked at his newest private patient and sister's best friend and said, 'Yes?'

'Could I possibly have my belongings in that box in the corner of the room put on my bedside table? I can't get out of bed at this point of time but I need to check my things.' Subaru nodded. 'Very well.' He went over to the corner and brought the box back to Mikan's bedside table. 'Thanks, Doctor!' grinned Mikan, and she immediately delved into the brown cardboard box.

The nurse and doctor smiled and went out of the room while Mikan rooted around in the box searching for her things. She pulled out the tiny electronic device, her necklace, and the envelope from inside her school skirt pocket and the knife that had been cleaned by her private nurse. Mikan laid them carefully on the bed in front of her, and then picked up the electronic device.

The electronic device crackled when Mikan pressed a tiny button on the device's left side. Mikan felt distressed when she saw that the device was not working properly.

'Oh no,' thought the brunette feverishly. 'I thought Hotaru's devices generally work? Why isn't it working now? Was it damaged by the rain?'

Mikan had bought this device about two weeks ago from an Imai-Incorporations store in a prefecture of Tokyo. It was Invention No. 12789, the Mini-Handheld-Shrouding-Device. It protected the holder from being tracked by anyone who the holder did not wish to meet. Mikan had specially configured it to hide her tracks from them. When Mikan opened the device's battery casing, it was rusted, so it _had _been ruined from the heavy rain the night before.

Mikan was very worried now. The device was failing, meaning them would be able to track Mikan very easily. And once they found out Mikan was hiding in Gakuen Alice…

Mikan shuddered at the thought. It would mean an all-out Alice War. Just then, someone knocked on the door to Mikan's ward. It was the nurse. 'Mikan-san? I'm here with your breakfast. Can I come in?' Mikan quickly put the device, the envelope and the knife into the box, covering them with her clothes. Just in time. 'Yes, of course,' she replied.

The door opened and Mikan's private nurse came inside the room pushing a trolley laden with a food tray. 'Here's your breakfast, Mikan-san. It consists of a bowl of Special K cereal with low-fat milk, a banana for fruit – or you can cut it up with your butter knife and add it to your cereal if you want – a slice of toast and a butter pat. Or would you prefer strawberry jam too?'

Mikan smiled. 'Thanks so much! Yes, I'd like some strawberry jam too, please.' The nurse grinned. 'No problemo, oh yes. Doctor Imai asked me to pass this envelope to you.' Mikan took the envelope from the nurse's hand, puzzled. 'Thanks.'

'Well, I'll be leaving now, but I'll come back in five minutes with your strawberry jam. Hope you enjoy your breakfast, Mikan-san!' The nurse was very happy to serve Mikan, as she had, though an upperclassman, admired Mikan very much when Mikan had still been in school, so now she was terribly excited and more than willing to serve Mikan as a private nurse.

'I will, thanks!' Mikan smiled as the nurse went out of the room, and then she ripped the envelope in her hands open. A piece of writing paper fell out of the envelope.

'Please ask the nurse for a wheelchair, sit in it, get the nurse to take you and meet me in Visiting Room No.7 on the fifth floor of the Alice Hospital when you have finished your breakfast. There's someone you absolutely need to meet. It's imperative that you meet this person. Yuka, Shiki and I will also be present. Narumi is busy though he wanted to come. Thanks. – Dr. Imai Subaru.'

Mikan frowned and put the paper back inside the envelope, then stuffed the envelope under the clothes in the cardboard box on the bedside table. She then put her necklace onto her neck, thinking over Subaru's request. 'Who am I meeting?'

She finished putting her necklace on and decided to shelve the matter till later, trusting that the adults would not decide for her to meet someone unless it was absolutely necessary. Mikan picked up her spoon and started eating cereal, deciding to wait for the nurse to come back with her strawberry jam to ask for a wheelchair.

**MEANWHILE, AT THE SAME TIME MIKAN WOKE UP**

'Ah! Look over there in the corridor!' hissed a random fan-girl of Natsume Hyuuga's.

'What?' snapped her best friend, who was with her. 'KYA!' squealed her friend back. 'Natsume-sama, Ruka-sama!' The friend whipped her head around and the whole corridor of girls started drooling at the sight of the two eighteen year old heartthrobs.

Natsume Hyuuga glared at all of them, who cleared off in a matter of seconds, deciding that they were going to be late for class. Just then, Hotaru appeared and dumped a whole lot of files in her boyfriend's arms. 'Hotaru!' complained Ruka. The rabbit in Ruka's arms jumped into Natsume's.

'Bunny boy. Do not make me angry. I feel surprisingly happy today for some strange reason,' said Hotaru slightly emotionlessly, before beckoning to the two boys to follow her to their classroom.

The two guys looked at each other. Rolled their eyes. Decided to preserve sanity and followed the Ice Queen down the corridor. Ruka was moving rather slowly because his arms were full of Hotaru's files, but he didn't really mind.

'What's up with your girl today, Ruka?' asked Natsume while shifting the rabbit in his arms slightly as his left arm was getting tired of carrying the rabbit. 'She seems to be truly happy this morning, and she hasn't been that way since…'

'Yeah,' agreed Ruka, 'but it's better than her being in a terrible mood, so I don't care much.' Natsume nodded slightly, fully agreeing. Man, the times when Imai Hotaru, the school Ice Queen, was mad! It was terrible.

Hotaru opened the classroom door and went in, followed by the two guys. The moment they appeared, the noise in the classroom died down, and everyone immediately started whispering.

Hotaru looked around, and then went to her seat, which was at the back row, closely followed by Natsume and Ruka. Some girls attempted fan-girls squeals, by Hotaru blasted them with her Baka Gun and then they all shut up, but the whispering died down. Everyone was staring hard at Hotaru Imai.

'What?' snapped the Ice Queen. Anna bravely spoke up. 'W-Well, you haven't used your Baka Gun even once ever since-' Anna didn't dare to finish her sentence but everyone understood.

'I know,' said Hotaru, softening her tone, since she was Anna's friend. 'Today I feel happy though so I will use it as much as I want.' The class froze. Imai Hotaru was happy?

Anna smiled. 'Well, if you say so, Hotaru-chan.' She went to her seat with Nonoko. Ruka put Hotaru's files on her desk and Natsume gave Usagi back to Ruka, then the two guys sat down as well.

Ruka, Natsume and Hotaru's seating arrangement had been changed since six years ago. Now, it was like this:

HOTARU – RUKA - NATSUME

So that's how it was. No teacher dared to change the three's seats. The bell for first period, Homeroom, rang and the students pulled out their laptops.

Students in the High School Division used same-model laptops during class. They inserted a CD into the CD drive of the laptop. Each CD was different for each lesson. For example, English was a yellow CD, Math was blue, Science was green, Japanese was red and so on.

The Homeroom teacher, Fukutan, came in with shaky legs. The class rolled their eyes. Every year, all the teachers of this class came in with terrified legs, as they were terribly scared of the Trio. The Trio consisted of Natsume, Ruka and Hotaru.

It was already a daily occurrence for senseis to let students do whatever they wanted. So, this morning, as usual, Fukutan slowly sat down in the teacher's chair and pulled out a magazine about cars. The class erupted into their own talk and began doing their own things.

Hotaru pulled out a screwdriver and began fixing a file holder to carry her files instead of Ruka. To tell the truth, Hotaru would never admit it, but she hated having Ruka carry her heavy things all the time as she thought that it inconvenienced Ruka, so she liked making things to carry her stuff for her instead.

Ruka gave Usagi a carrot to munch on, then turned to talk to Natsume, who was reading his manga as usual with his legs on the table. Most of their fan-girls were staring at Natsume, since Hotaru had enforced a rule over the years that Ruka's fan-girls were not to stare at him too much or harass him in any way, especially during Valentines' Day or they got the brunt of Hotaru's fury. This was unfortunate for Natsume as it meant that most of his fan-girls now had their attention directed to him instead of him sharing the burden with Ruka.

Natsume glared at them and they hurriedly dispersed. Ruka sighed. Suddenly, the classroom door swung open and Shiki strode in. He whispered something to Fukutan, who went a little pale then nodded.

Koko, who was reading Shiki's mind, suddenly gave a little gasp. Sumire, who was his girlfriend and was sitting next to him, wondered what had happened but said nothing.

Shiki walked over to Koko and said, 'Please come with me now, Yome-kun. It is important.' Koko slowly got out of his seat, his nerves inside shaking. His best friend who was sitting on his other side, Kitsuneme, looked at him worriedly. He could tell that something was worrying his best friend.

Koko and Shiki left the classroom, everyone staring at them. Then they dismissed the matter and continued doing their own thing, though some of them were a little puzzled as to why generally well-behaved Koko was taken out of class for no apparent reason.

Hotaru stared as the classroom door slammed shut. She was confused as well, but dismissed various thoughts from her mind to concentrate on her invention.

Ruka and Natsume talked about stuff like their favourite manga series (Ruka had been influenced by Natsume over the years and had given to reading manga as well, but he didn't read them as much as Natsume did).

Koko did not appear for the rest of the school day, even after the bell rang for Ability Classes. Those who went to Koko's Ability Class later reported that Koko had not shown up. Apparently he had had some excuse to not attend the class.

The class was getting a bit worried about Koko. When it was dinnertime though, Koko finally re-appeared in the cafeteria. His classmates surrounded him and started asking him what had happened.

Koko looked a bit worried and confused, but his friends' questions made him remember what had happened the entire day.

**KOKO'S FLASHBACK**

'Where are we going, Shiki-sensei?' asked Koko curiously as Shiki took him out of the school building and they got into a waiting black limo. Shiki sat next to him and said, 'The Alice Hospital. Someone arrived yesterday and was warded there. You need to meet her.'

'_So it's a female,' _thought Koko. '_Wonder who?'_ **(A/N: You guys can probably guess whom Koko's meeting by now right? Yay! The story's finally getting underway!)**

The driver drove off. Ten minutes later, the sleek vehicle reached the Alice Hospital driveway. It went up the driveway and stopped at the main entrance. Shiki told the driver to wait till they came back out. The driver agreed and Shiki and Koko got out of the limo and went into the hospital's lobby.

'Wha-' thought Koko, observing nurses and doctors and patients everywhere. A nurse at the front desk spotted Shiki and went over. She was dressed in a blue uniform, unlike all the other nurses in the area, who were dressed in green.

_A senior nurse?_ wondered Koko. The nurse nodded slightly to Shiki and Koko, and she led them through a couple of hallways, then into an elevator to the hospital's 5th floor. The three of them alighted from the lift there and the nurse led them further down another hallway. They finally came to a stop outside a room that had a brass plate on the door proclaiming it to be 'Visiting Room 7'.

The nurse knocked gently and Koko heard someone say 'Come in,' and the door opened a small crack, barely large enough for Shiki to enter through. Shiki told Koko to go inside, and then he followed Koko in. The nurse shut the door softly and stood outside it.

Koko's first impression of the room was that the lights were all turned on, and the windows were shut with the curtains drawn.

His attention was caught by a large rectangular glass coffee table in the middle of the room. There was a person in a wheelchair sitting not facing him, at the end of the coffee table. At the head sat Azumi Yuka, and on her left side sat, Koko knew, Hotaru's onii-san, the Alice Hospital's current head doctor, Imai Subaru in a two-seater couch. Koko immediately felt a little uncomfortable. So many higher ups in the room with him…

Shiki and Koko walked over to the people seated around the coffee table. Hearing their approaching footsteps, the person in the wheelchair shifted slightly. Koko noted this and tried to read the person's mind. To his surprise, he found that he couldn't do it.

At this point, Shiki had sat down on the two-seater couch on Yuka's right side. He told Koko to sit next to him, which Koko did. Then he caught his first glimpse of the person in the wheelchair. And nearly had a heart attack. In fact, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

'Please do not read my mind again, Koko,' said the girl in the wheelchair with a huge grin. Koko's eyes widened. He simply could not believe his eyes. 'A-Are you a ghost or something? Or am I just dreaming or hallucinating that you're sitting right in front of me…_SAKURA Mikan-chan_?'

Mikan laughed. 'You're not dreaming, Koko-kun. And no, I'm not dead, so I can't be a ghost.' Koko still couldn't believe it. 'What are you doing here, Mikan-chan? I-I thought you were dead!'

Mikan sighed. 'I'm not dead, Koko. I am clearly alive to the 3 adults here,' she gestured around. The 3 adults laughed. 'B-But how did you get here?' asked Koko wonderingly, as he sat back on the couch.

'That's a long story Koko. The reason Shiki-san wanted you to meet me was because he felt that you could help us.' Koko glanced around. 'Help what?'

'I'll explain,' said Mikan. 'Yesterday, I fainted at a roadside in Tokyo and some woman nearby sent me to a hospital in Tokyo. Then I was sent to this hospital after doctors found out I had Alices. I've been trying to escape from many people who want my Alices badly all these six years. You can't tell how worried I am about being back here. If my enemies find out I'm here, the school will most likely be attacked. I have to leave soon.'

Koko gasped. 'But you can't leave right now, surely? Do you know how much Imai-san, Natsume and Ruka have been worried about you? The entire school was worried about you! We searched for you for four years and found no leads! They'll be so happy to see you again! Why don't you go and meet them before you leave at least?'

Mikan shook her head, though her chocolate eyes were already filling with tears. 'I'm sorry, Koko-kun. I'd love to see them all again too, see how much they've changed, make everyone happy, but Koko, I can't! Shiki said getting you to help us was best. You see, if you happened to read their minds, you'd have found out everything, and you might have gone and said stuff to the others and our plans would have been ruined. Not that I'm saying you'd _definitely_ spill everything of course, but you might have been unsure of what to do. Anyway, your Alice is great to help us gather information, but you don't have to help us if you don't want to, Koko. It's okay.'

'No,' said Koko. 'It's fine. I'll help.' Mikan's eyes widened. 'Really?'

Koko grinned. 'Really.'

Mikan squealed,' Thanks so much, Koko-kun! You have to remember though, please don't tell anyone else, especially our classmates, about our meeting! I know Natsume and Hotaru might be beastly to you when they find out, but when they do, please try not to say anything! If in the end you do say everything, it's okay.'

'Right,' replied Koko. 'Hey, could you tell me what's happened the past six years? I'm totally clueless! Okaa-san and the others can't tell me much!' Koko grinned again. 'Sure, Mikan-chan.'

BACK TO THE PRESENT

'Nothing happened,' said Koko. 'Shiki-sensei just wanted to see me because he wanted to ask me whether I wanted to help the Powerful Alices Ability Class by gathering some secret information with my Alice. Nothing much, really.'

This was the excuse Shiki had instructed Koko to give to his classmates when they asked him the inevitable question of where he had gone for the whole day. The class was not fully convinced. Surely a talk like that could have lasted at most only an hour?

Sumire however didn't think of this fact, and she asked whether Koko had said yes. Koko said he had indeed said yes.

'_It's only a little lie, and even then it's not really a lie,'_ thought Koko, sweat dropping.

Sumire looked worried. 'It won't affect your health right?' Koko nodded. 'Well then,' said a relieved Sumire, 'let's go eat dinner. You must be hungry, Koko.'

Koko had spent most of the remainder of the day telling Mikan mostly what had happened while she was gone, so it was true that he was hungry.

'Let's go then.'

Out of the corner of his eye, Natsume glanced at Koko suspiciously. What on earth was happening with Koko? Hotaru was also feeling slightly suspicious of Koko but she said nothing.

A FEW DAYS LATER

Koko was walking down the school corridor with Sumire. He was thinking of what Mikan had said the day before.

'_Koko, when you come to see me, could you please tell me what is going on in the school? I need to know what's going on.'_

'_Okay,' he'd responded. And that had been that._

Sumire noticed her boyfriend was thinking very deeply but said nothing. They went on into the classroom where suddenly a whole lot of students were talking very excitedly. Some were brandishing the day's copy of the school newspaper, Alice News, in their hands as they chattered loudly.

Kitsuneme, who was dating Nonoko, came over to the two of them with a copy of the paper. 'Have you seen it, Sumire?' asked Nonoko excitedly. 'Seen what?' said Sumire, confused.

Kitsuneme showed them the front page of the newspaper. The headlines flared out, big and black and in huge fonts.

'Mysterious patient in Alice Hospital! Is _Sakura Mikan _**BACK**?' read out Sumire. Koko gasped and turned pale. 'Nurse tells all in anonymous tip-off conversation with editor of the Alice News!'

'**WHAT? **Lemme see that report!' Koko grabbed the newspaper from Sumire and started reading feverishly.

' 'I was walking down a corridor in the hospital, though I can't say which level, and I saw a ward that had a name on the door. The name on the ward door was '?Sakura Mikan?' That puzzled me a whole lot, I must say!' ' Koko was horrified. 'Oh no!'

'What?' said Sumire, still confused. 'So is everyone happy because they think the new patient is Mikan? But I thought Mikan was dea-'

The classroom door crashed open. 'Don't you dare finish that sentence, Sumire,' warned Imai Hotaru, storming into the room with Ruka and Natsume. Hotaru held a Baka Gun in one hand and a copy of the newspaper in the other.

Hotaru went to the front of the classroom and yelled, 'Alright! Anyone knows who is the nurse who gave the anonymous tip-off?'

Utter silence immediately. 'OK,' grumbled the Ice Queen,' that answers my question perfectly.'

Natsume glared at the newspaper. 'We are going to the hospital right now,' he said shortly. 'Who's coming?' The whole class raised their hands, except Koko. Everyone glanced at him.

Hotaru shot Koko with her Baka Gun.

**BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA**

Koko smashed into the wall. He staggered and got up. 'Why don't you want to go and see if Mikan is back?' said an annoyed Hotaru. 'I thought you were her friend?'

'Erm…' Koko was at a loss. He couldn't possibly say the truth yet! 'It's not allowed! We can't leave school premises until-' Hotaru aimed her Baka Gun at him again. 'I'll go,' Koko gasped.

'Good,' said Hotaru, putting away her gun. She led the class outside, and on the school lawn, Hotaru pulled out a toy-sized school bus. She tapped a tire on the bus and quickly put it on the pavement, then hurriedly backed away.

The toy bus expanded and became as large as a normal school bus. 'Get in,' ordered the Ice Queen. She herself got into the driver's seat, Ruka and Natsume in the seat behind her. Across the aisle were Anna and Nonoko.

The rest of the class spread out on the seats. Hotaru shut the bus door and revved the engine. Suddenly, the class heard yells. They looked out of the bus windows to see Fukutan and Jinno-sensei yelling at them. The class was apparently caught trying to leave school premises. 'What are you all doing?' thundered Jinno. 'You **DARE** to skip school? Open the door!'

'Not a chance,' smirked the Ice Queen, and she revved the engine. The bus shot off at the speed of light or something. The senseis were left far behind to eat their dust. **(A/N: Don't ask me how a toy bus can have a working engine here. It just does, OK?)**

The class screamed in terror as the bus hurtled along like crazy. Barely a minute later, they reached the hospital, which was being mobbed outside it by…oh great.

The **'Mikan Fan-Club'** was trying to get inside the hospital lobby, which was barricaded. Apparently it had been revived after 6 long years of silence. Natsume was pissed when he got off the bus. He burnt the members' hair. They screamed and ran away to stop the fire. Hotaru pulled out her Baka Gun.

**BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA**

Inside the hospital, Mikan was in her ward, sitting in her wheelchair. With her were her private nurse, Dr. Subaru, Narumi, Shiki, Yuka and Kazu. 'What am I going to do?' murmured Mikan. 'Oh no…' A copy of the morning's newspaper was clutched tightly in her left hand.

The crowd of over a _1000_ people downstairs outside the hospital's lobby made a deafening noise. Mikan and the adults high up in the seventh floor could still hear the screams of **'Mikan-sama!'** even with the curtains drawn and the windows shut.

Just then the screams of **'Mikan-sama!'** turned into **'KYA!!!!!'** and **'AAIIIE!! MY HAIR'S ON FIRE!!!! HELP MEE!!'** Mikan gasped. She immediately asked Narumi to push her to the window and open a tiny crack of the curtain. Mikan's ward overlooked the front entrance seven floors down, and Mikan believed that, judging from the **'HAIR'S ON FIRE!'** screams, a certain person had just arrived, and though she didn't want to meet him face to face, she wanted to at least catch a glimpse of him.

Narumi did so, and the whole lot of adults and Mikan carefully peeped out of the curtains and looked seven floors down and gasped. They were looking at…

Complete, utter pandemonium. The hospital's front garden was going to be completely destroyed sooner or later, what with all the trampling of feet on its grass. 'AH!' gasped Mikan. 'Someone stop this! I can't let the hospital garden be ruined just because I'm here…'

'There's one way to stop that happening,' said Yuka. Mikan stared at her mother. 'What's that?' Yuka looked at the floor slightly. 'You go downstairs.'

'But Okaa-san!' protested Mikan immediately. 'You know full well once my enemies hear I'm here they'll attack the place!'

'There's no other option – Yuka's right,' said Shiki stoically. 'AARGH!' groaned Mikan. The brunette thought awhile. 'How about you guys dump me outside the school then? I leave today. I'm pretty much healed anyway. I get out somehow and everything is solved! Then I won't inconvenience everyone.'

'If I know fan mobs,' said Narumi, 'they're gonna stay there till you appear. If you go out in a vehicle it'll be super obvious. They'll start chasing the car, and I think your friends won't be pleased, Mikan-chan.'

'Aahhh,' went Mikan. 'What do I do?'

'I think it's safer if Mikan agrees to see a few people,' said Subaru suddenly. 'I know this is very difficult to decide Mikan, I know you will not let anyone get hurt right? That's what you told us from the beginning, but I'm sure those people can help us.'

Mikan nodded, her brunette hair shaking slightly. 'Right,' she said confidently. 'Today. I'll see them today.'

Outside, the situation was not good. Hotaru and the class had made for themselves a special zone right in front of the hospital doors. Hotaru had used Invention No. 367, The Instant Open-Air Barrier, to divide the class and the rest of the mob. More people were arriving every second, and it wasn't just students. Even faculty members, Mr. Bear, Tsubasa Andou, Harada Misaki, Youichi and Aoi (who are in the same class, let's pretend that for this fic and they are dating by the way) had arrived to try and see if the rumour was real. After all, the whole school knew Mikan.

Aoi and Youichi spotted the class B. Hotaru allowed them into the special zone. The entire crowd had just increased by a lot, and currently there were roughly _4500_ people, with more people coming. Tsubasa and Misaki got into the zone too somehow.

The screams were still continuing, but a moment later, from inside the hospital, there was a loud scream. '**OI! ALL YOU PEOPLE OUTSIDE! CLEAR OFF THE GRASS!** Patients are trying to sleep, and you're disturbing the peace!' The crowd got a bit scared and moved to just outside the hospital grounds. Except for Class B's group of course.

'**OI! DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME THE FIRST TIME! MOVE OFF!'** thundered the person, who was actually Mikan's private nurse. **'WE ARE NOT LEAVING TILL WE SEE MIKAN!'** yelled back the whole class. The nurse rolled her eyes. **'HAVE IT YOUR WAY!'**

'Huh?' went the class. Moments later, the hospital doors swung open. A group of four

The whole crowd stared at the group. Hotaru's eyes narrowed. She pulled out her Baka Gun and shot the group.

**BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA BAKA**

'Oh crap!' The whole crowd heard Narumi say as he got hit. Eventually the adults lost the Baka Gun battle and crumpled to the floor.

'Listen up, people,' said Yuka. 'Where are Hyuuga Natsume, Imai Hotaru, Nogi Ruka, Mr. Bear-san, Andou Tsubasa, Harada Misaki, Hijiri Youichi and Hyuuga Aoi? Oh yes, and Yome Kokoroyomi? These people follow me. The rest of you go away. If you don't leave in five seconds, all get a full semester of detention.'

Everyone fled except for the named people. 'Come along,' muttered Shiki. Koko asked, 'Are we going to the visiting room?'

'No,' said Shiki. 'We're going someplace else.' Hotaru looked annoyed. 'What's going on here?'

Yuka glanced at her. 'We're going to see someone important. Now move it or I'll change my mind about it.'

Everyone's eyes widened. _Maybe it was Mikan they were going to see?_ 'Hurry up!' shouted Hotaru immediately, attacking Narumi to get him to move faster. The group went down the two hallways, up the lift to the seventh floor, down a corridor and then finally arrived at a certain ward.

'Ready?' asked Kazu. The group nodded, very excited. Natsume was half-hoping it was Mikan they were going to see, like everyone else.

Yuka knocked on the door. The nurse inside said, 'Come in.'

Yuka opened the door and the whole group trooped in hurriedly.

The group's eyes widened. There was someone seated in a wheelchair facing the window, which was open for once. The breeze came in through the window and the place was cool.

'Welcome to my hospital ward,' said the person in the wheelchair without turning around. 'I hope you enjoy it here.' The person got out of the wheelchair and turned around. The group noted that she was wearing hospital wear and was rather tall. Then their eyes traveled to her face.

Thy all gasped and moved closer immediately, especially Hotaru and Natsume.

'My name is Sakura Mikan. I'm eighteen years old.' The brunette grinned, and flashed them her trademark smile. 'How do you do?'

The group stared at her for a second more, and then they rushed forward and enveloped her in a tight group hug. **'MIKAN!!!' **

_**Najika-chan's Corner:**_

OK guys, before you scream at the fact that Mikan suddenly decided in this fic to see her friends even though she wasn't supposed to let them know she was here, I'll tell you all why: Mikan will need their help if she's going to stop the AAO and save herself. She can't do it alone!

Anyways, Chapter 3 will show Mikan explaining her past to her friends and the adults, and the gang planning their next move. Also, I promise a NxM scene! OK? Please continue to support me; I know this chappie probably sucked! =(

_**~GAKUEN ALICE MANGA NEXT CHAPPIE COMING SOON! EEE~**_

~Najika-chan


	3. Chapter 3

_~My Alices, My Pain~_

_**Author's Notes: **_I love you all, dearest reviewers! Thanks for reviewing! Also thank you if you put my story on Author Alert or Story Alert or Favourites.

**REVIEWERS:**

**#1. **Sakura Breeze

**#2.** ImiChan

**#3.** HoshinaYuki

**#4.** Victania

**#5.** Chiaki Harukaze 

**#6.** JuSt To RaNdOm

**#7.** IceGirl7

**#8.** moonacre99

**#9.** baka0shoujo

**Note 2:** BTW, I realized something very funny that happened in Chapter 2. You know the driver that drove Koko and Shiki to the Alice Hospital? Well, Shiki said this:

_Shiki told the driver to wait till they came back out. The driver agreed and Shiki and Koko got out of the limo and went into the hospital's lobby._

Correct? Well then, I wonder what happened to the poor driver, because:

_Koko did not appear for the rest of the school day, even after the bell rang for Ability Classes. Those who went to Koko's Ability Class later reported that Koko had not shown up. Apparently he had had some excuse to not attend the class._

_The class was getting a bit worried about Koko. When it was dinnertime though, Koko finally re-appeared in the cafeteria._

Hope you guys understood the joke! For those who don't get the joke I'll explain. You see, the driver took Koko back to the high school division, but that was like, after many many hours! I dunno what happened to the driver, poor guy. Forced to wait in the limo for dunno how long, hahahahaha!!! Let's start Chapter 3 now.

**CHAPTER THREE**

The brunette tried to sit down on the couch, but she failed as her friends were still wrapped around her super tightly. Mikan felt a bit like a piece of meat stuck between bread like a in a sandwich.

'I can't breathe properly,' panted Mikan. The group realized they were hugging Mikan too tightly and sheepishly let go. Mikan collapsed with a sigh onto the couch.

'Thanks,' she commented. The rest smiled and sat down on seats around the coffee table in Mikan's ward. Natsume made sure he sat next to her.

Mikan stared at him and blushed then looked away immediately. Natsume grinned. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, 'I hope you haven't lost the ring, have you?'

Mikan laughed, turning back to look at him. 'No, of course not.' Natsume smiled. 'Good.' He put his hand over hers and clenched it tight. 'I'm not letting you leave, Polka Dots.' Mikan pouted. 'What, you still haven't stopped calling me that? I thought you would have gotten rid of that kind of habit.'

'No way, you're still Polka Dots to me.'

The whole group laughed as they watched Mikan's face turn even redder than it had been previously.

**(A/N: Sorry, I had to erm..cut short the NxM scene a bit.)**

'Well now,' said Yuka. 'Mikan, don't you think it's about time you told us the story of your past for the last six years? You haven't told us adults yet and I still clearly remember what you said the first night you were admitted here.'

'_Man, Mikan,' commented Narumi. 'What happened to you all this while?' Mikan's happy face froze, and she looked upset. 'Well…what happened…can I just tell you another time?'_

Mikan blushed again. 'Well, sure…but I'm a little worried about saying everything because…well…' Hotaru looked annoyed and pulled out her Baka Gun.

'Say it all, Mikan, or I kill you.' Mikan shivered. 'Fine, fine…'

The brunette sat back on the couch and began.

'Six years ago, the day I disappeared…You guys all saw that flash of light coming from inside that weird ball thing Hotaru trapped me in right?

Everybody nodded.

'Well, I thought maybe Mr. Bear' Mikan gestured to Mr. Bear here, 'might be injured in the fire so I wished to go and find him. The next moment I found myself in the Northern Forest, with fires blazing all around. Later I realized it was my newest Alice, the second Alice I'd inherited from okaa-san, the Teleportation Alice. It had activated so I disappeared just like that.'

Hotaru gasped a bit. 'No wonder you disappeared, we should have thought of that!' Mikan sighed. 'Well, that's when it all started…'

**SIX YEARS AGO, THE NORTHERN FOREST**

Mikan walked about the forest, trying to avoid the fires all around her. Suddenly, she tripped on a rock and fell onto the floor. Mikan painfully got up and continued walking.

She heard a noise behind her and whipped her head around. 'Mr. Bear? Is that you? I don't know how I got here you know! One minute I'm here next minute I'm there…'

A young man stepped out of the shrubs in the forest behind her. Mikan gasped and backed away, as the man did not look friendly. 'Who are you?'

'The name's Reo Mouri,' said the man with a grin. Mikan gasped. 'Y-You escaped that time after kidnapping Permy, Natsume and me!'

The man grinned wider. 'Good memory. What's your name?'

'Like I would tell you!' spat back Mikan, annoyed. Reo laughed. 'Suit yourself. You'll have to come with me.'

'Why should I?'

'What if I told you that my minions set fire to this forest?' Mikan's eyes widened.

'WHAT?'

'You heard me right. Don't worry; it's not a fire started by Alices. It's a normal one. I will burn the academy to the ground if you do not consent to join my organisation.'

Mikan clenched her fists. 'The academy will stop you. You can't burn the place to the ground this easily.'

'Oh yes I can,' said Reo. 'If it's me, yes I can!'

'I'll stop you then,' said Mikan, her hazel eyes flashing.

Reo smirked. 'Even with your Alice, you can't possibly do a thing.'

Mikan was stunned. 'What do you mean?'

'The forest is now fully on fire,' explained Reo. 'FIRE.'

'WHAT!' Mikan glanced around quickly, and realised that flames were licking the trees and grasses even more than they had earlier. _'Oh no!'_

'And, it's not a fire caused by Alice. It's a _normal_ fire.'

Mikan was stunned. 'You used a normal fire on purpose!' Mikan was thinking quickly now. She had a Water Alice actually, that's why she'd begged to help Misaki-sensei in the classroom.

Too bad for her, she wasn't supposed to let anyone know about her Stealing (SEC) Alice. But to rid the forest of the fire quickly…

Mikan groaned. She thought of all the times her uncle, the High school principal, Kazu, had warned her to not let anyone know she had her mother's Alice.

'Uncle's gonna kill me,' thought the brunette. She didn't really have a choice though. Some Water Alices were trying to put out the fire, true, but they were on the other side of the forest.

It was impossible for Mikan to find them now.

She decided on something. 'Hey, Reo!'

Reo stared at her. 'What?'

'I tell you what; you want me to join you right?'

'Yeah, so?'

'I'll join you-' Reo's eyes brightened.

'-but on one condition.' Reo rolled his bright eyes. 'What is it?'

'You remove the fire now.'

'Very well.' Reo pulled out a phone from his jeans pocket and called somebody. 'Put the fire out now. Kisaki has agreed to join us.' He shut his phone.

Mikan looked puzzled. 'Hey! I'm not Kisaki! My name is Mikan. MIKAN! Man, not just Natsume forgets my name huh? So you also forget people's names…'

Reo looked like he wanted to laugh. 'Kisaki is your alias while you're with us, Mikan.'

'Oh…'

Around them, there was a sudden mist. Reo's eyebrows rose. 'The fire's out. My team 'borrowed' a fire engine from the local firehouse. The smoke's coming this way. Follow me.'

Reo turned on his heel and walked in a west direction. Mikan groaned and followed him, thinking: What am I gonna do now?

An hour later, the mist cleared and scores of students raced into the forest, searching for any injured or missing people.

Half of them were looking for Mikan. They didn't find her of course. And thanks to the mist rising into the sky about fifty minutes previously, no one noticed a car leaving the forest that disappeared once it reached the main road in the school.

-

-

-

Mikan finished her explanations. Everybody stared at her. 'What?'

'So you went with them. What happened there?' asked Yuka.

'Well. They trained me a bit with my Nullification Alice, but I didn't tell them about my Stealing Alice. I copied people's Alices whenever I could in case. Then one day, I tried to copy Reo's Alice. He found out because I was careless, and beat me with a whip. Then he locked me in a cell. So of course that's how I started trying to escape. I got punished each time I was caught and Reo threatened to do all sorts of things to me. Eventually they kidnapped my grandfather and killed him to stop me escaping. There was a huge fight.'

Everybody gasped.

'I was allowed to bury him in the monastery where I used to live with Ojii-san, then I only managed to escape when the organization sent somebody with the Instant Teleportation Alice to guard me. I tried to copy it but I couldn't so I realized that that Alice must already be in my body. Then I remembered how I got out of Hotaru's blue ball invention and used the Instant Teleportation Alice to escape. They put a Barrier Alice around my cell though even if it fails against my Nullification Alice so I overrode it with Nullification and teleported away.'

'Where did you go next?' asked Hotaru.

'I ended up in some alley. Then I stayed there a few days and I bought some invention of yours from a nearby shop, Hotaru, but the night I was found, it started to rain and I had no protection, so I had to leave the alley. I found a bus stop, and then I collapsed there. Then this woman took me to the hospital, so I was sent here.'

Everybody looked relieved that Mikan's explanation was finally over.

'What do we do now?' asked Yuka. Everybody looked at each other.

'I think I have to find a way to stop this charade,' explained Mikan with a sigh.

'How?' asked Natsume. 'You're still recovering, you know.'

'Well…' Suddenly, something in the room started buzzing very loudly.

Mikan gasped. 'Crap.'

She raced to the box where she kept her stuff in and pulled out the device she'd bought from Hotaru's store.

'It's completely failed,' fretted Mikan. 'What is that?' asked Ruka.

Hotaru smirked. 'Invention No. 12789, the Mini-Handheld-Shrouding-Device. It protects the holder from being tracked by anyone who the holder does not wish to meet. Available for 2500 Rabbits. So, Mikan, you spent all your savings on it?'

Mikan nodded. 'It worked great for awhile, and then it got rusted from the rain.'

Hotaru nodded. 'That's something I'm trying to fix.'

'It means now that the Z organization can track me down.'

Everybody absorbed the implications of this event. 'Oh no.'

Mikan nodded again, grimly. 'We'd better find a way to stop this, before an Alice War begins.'

'Let's get to work then,' commented Natsume, a frown on his face.

-

-

-

_**Author's Corner:**_ Well, this is chapter 3! Hope it met your expectations, people! Chapter 123 of Gakuen Alice came out in Mangafox! I read it earlier and oh, it was simply amazing! Can't wait for the new arc to begin :)

~Najika-chan


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